Harris tweed jacket and jeans

Walking along the River Tweed, wearing tweed that (is it just me?) is rather reminiscent of the colours of the landscape. Of course, it’s Harris tweed and we’re in the Borders, but it seems fitting nonetheless. Cloth suited to its country.

This was one of the more evocative experiences from being in Scotland a couple of weeks ago. Factories are great – you can’t hide in a factory, there is no PR – but the landscape was beautiful. You don’t expect that outside the Highlands, but it really was.

Funny what a small world this menswear industry is. I think everyone I’ve met this week has some connection to those three factories we saw in Scotland – whether manufacturer, buyer or designer. And they all had a link to each other too. It’s something that has only become more obvious in the past 30 years, as the British menswear industry has shrunk and lines have become blurred – makers becoming retailers, most obviously.

The A&S cardigan does the job it was designed for admirably: cut slim and short to be able to go under a jacket. It provides insulation for the neck and body, is a versatile mid-layer, and creates that attractive ‘V’ of extra colour that all cardigans are so good for.

For those readers that regularly ask for workplace alternatives to the suit: this is the kind of jacket to wear with jeans, and the cardigan is a great jacket-alternative around the office. Wear it with a wool or silk-knit tie to make it more formal.

I was really excited when I saw AS was getting a ecommerce website for their haberdashery business but someone really has to tell them they’ve been sold a lemon. There were better functioning sites in the 90s let alone this day and age.

Hey Dan – I’ll pass the feedback along to A&S. Bear in mind they are a tiny operation trying to offer a vast range of clothing. As far as I’m aware the cream cashmere hank has never been on their website, but I might be wrong. And that link just goes to the homepage for me now as well

I do appreciate this but there are bedroom based businesses running free ecommerce software that have massively better functionally websites created on a shoestring budget. Looking at Skywire who appear to have created the site its certainly not a shoestring budget thats been spent.

First of all, thanks for this wonderfully informative blog; you’re work on this has been inspirational. You’ve written about this before, I believe, but I was curious to hear what you do about storage? I’m an inveterate purchaser of coats and jackets, and am finding it challenging to maximise the limited wardrobe space I’ve tried temporary wardrobes to be put into storage, but it’s become a real challenge (particularly for my partner), and I’m concerned that I’m damaging my clothes because of the lack of adequate space. Would you be willing to do a post on this subject detailing your approach?

I’m curious how wide the boxes are? I kept the “wardrobe” boxes from our last couple of house moves and they comfortably fit 6-8 suites in there depending on the thickness of the hanger’s shoulder element.

Just wondering if you have thinner boxes that could be useful or if you are just leaving more space

The picture of you at the top of the post may be the coolest, most stylish picture on the site. Very cool to see a tweed jacket in it’s true element of Scotland! As you talk about some of the challenges AS faces with their site I thought of a possible future post. I am sure many of your readers would be curious to understand the challenges some of the brick and mortar shops face. Maybe a post on what it takes to get a retail men’s shop up and running. Keep up the great work!

Thanks Michael, and an interesting idea. I’m planning a post on the margins and costs of retailing generally (which might make people feel a little bit more sorry for small RTW companies!) so it could be part of that.

Simon, love that tweed,jean look! More specifically, The brown jacket with jeans and cardigan is excellent. I also like the shoes as well. This is a marvelous Autumn/Winter look that’s both casual and sophisticated as well.

The photography highlighting the beauty of the tweed jacket and where it gets it’s inspiration from is to be applauded .

On the subject of jackets I noticed that sleeve pitch is increasingly necessary on RTW jackets although something which many men no nothing about. I recently spoke with a tailor about having a sleeve pitch altered and he was genuinely surprised by my enquiry. Given men’s posture is increasingly changing due to desk bound work it would be great to see you, Simon, educate men on this.

Couldn’t agree with you more, in a time seemingly dominated by fashion and designers it is strangely surprising that the British menswear industry is so small- it’s not like we are behind in the style stakes?! I love the jacket- it doesn’t matter where you go, tweed immediately evokes images of the British countryside and its raw beauty!

I have never been able to understand the allure of jeans; they are no doubt ideal for the purpose for which they were designed, but in my view are totally unsuitable for any other purpose. Unpleasant material, too hot in summer, not warm enough in winter – why does anyone find them attractive? Wouldn’t woollen, corduroy or moleskin trousers go better with the excellent jacket and cardigan?

I am a best man at a Highland wedding next October (2015) and want to wear (bespoke) tweed. In your opinion do I go for Walker Slater or look to one of the other tailors you’ve recommended? Budget-wise … I guess I’m looking at £1000 – £1500

Hi Simon, this is a beautiful jacket, how slim are the sleeves? Does wearing a cardigan underneath feel restrictive at all? And as an aside, is the back clean, or is there a bit of drape there? Thanks in advance..

Does tweed hold its shape well? I’ve read a few posts over on Styleforum where people have complained about their bespoke tweed jackets stretching and not going back to their original shape. Have you experienced anything like this with tweed?

It’s a 13oz Shetland tweed fabric that I have my eye on. Hopefully, it’ll be ok. You mentioned previously that tweed can be in uncomfortable with a thin shirt. I’m guessing it can be itchy. Have you had any Neapolitan jackets made that are fully lined?

Recently discovered the blog and I’m enjoying it along with your Instagram feed.

Really loving the look here on this one. It’s a bit more my aesthetic as I love Harris Tweed and a jacket such as yours here with some raw denim. That said I wonder if I could get some advice and your take on adding a jacket from a suit to pair with denim. Personally I feel as though it’s in large part down to the fabrication of the jacket, but I also think that the cut comes into play and I’m not as confident in my pairing as far as the latter goes. For instance the Drake’s AW17 corduroy jackets. While they have a match pant, I also think the jacket could be more versatile if paired with raw denim. Curious to get your experienced take on such a combination.

Simon, can I ask you something about Harris Tweed? Ive noticed that its weight is often quite light, something like 250grams. I assume this is because it isnt tightly woven therefore isnt dense. How does it wear in terms of temperature? Does it wear coolers as it is more porous?